Weis says suspect fired through closed door, hoping to strike cops
Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO —
A Chicago Police officer with a gunshot wound laughed and joked with his wife while recovering Thursday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
He and a fellow narcotics unit officer were shot in the leg while executing a search warrant in the Roseland neighborhood. Both officers -- veterans whom police declined to identify -- were expected to recover fully, authorities said.
“It could have been very melancholy today,” police Supt. Jody Weis told reporters outside the hospital. “Very fortunately, both were in good spirits.”
Despite the good prognosis for those two officers, Thursday’s broad-daylight shoot-out remains a serious warning about the violent reality on neighborhood streets every day, Weis said.
The gun battle inside a house at 112th Place and State Street was the fourth police-involved shooting in 36 hours, Weis said. And in July, there has been nearly an incident a day in which someone with a gun has tried to murder a cop.
“Society has got to a point where there are certain elements of it that are willing to murder police officers,” Weis said. “If police officers are faced with this growing threat, it’s a threat to our entire community. We’ll work hard to keep this city safe. But, again, when you have people at any point in time they’ll pull out a gun and start shooting, it’s a dangerous place for everyone, and we have to work together to keep it safe.”
At about 12:50 p.m. Thursday, a team of narcotics division officers entered the house through the back door, wearing full body armor and yelling, “Police, search warrant,” when a 22-year-old man shot at them through a closed bedroom door, police said.
Both officers -- a 45-year old with 15 years’ experience and a 34-year-old with nine years on the force -- were shot in the leg and returned fire through the bedroom door. The gunman -- whom police declined to identify pending charges -- was not injured.
Officers “knocked and announced their office . . . the fact that they were police officers,” Weis said. The offender “fired through a door blindly at people who were yelling ‘police officers’ at the time.”
There were several other people “holed up” in the bedroom where the gunfight took place. Weis said all were in custody and being interviewed. The gun was confiscated. A 3-year-old child also was in the house, police said.
Weis asked neighbors to provide police with anonymous tips to help catch criminals with guns.
“If they’ll do that to a uniformed officer, what will they do to civilians and innocent people on the street. That’s why we need the entire community to get together,” Weis said. “Because if the bad guys are willing to shoot uniformed officers, the citizens in this city are in very grave danger.”
The shooting was about a block away from Ald. Anthony Beale’s 9th Ward office. Beale heard the flurry of shots that sent his staff scattering to get away from windows, and called 911.
Beale said Chicago needs help to battle gun violence.
“If we really want to do something about gun violence in our neighborhoods, the federal government needs to step in and finally do something,” Beale said. “Maybe when these guns reach the doorsteps of U.S. senators and congressmen, and their kids are getting killed and shot up, maybe then they’ll act on it.”
Copyright 2009 Chicago Sun-Times